Witnesses to War

copyright Louie Palu

After President Obama announced his plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan last Wednesday, I've been thinking about our presence in Afghanistan, particularly over the last decade, and how much my own personal understanding of what's transpired is drawn from mainstream media sources - such as this interesting article in The Economist discussing the new news narrative about Americans in Afghanistan now that bin Laden is no longer.

Scenes from the "War on Terror" frontlines in Afghanistan and Iraq are likely to be the most photographed and widely shared in history. Embedded photojournalists have been right there with the troops, wearing flak jackets and bearing their muddy, world-weary cameras, and eventually even iPhones.

I'd be curious to study how images of our war in Afghanistan published in mainstream news sources have shaped the war narrative for the majority of Americans whose lives are almost completely removed from the reality of what's happening Over There. What happens during that journey from the eye squinting through a dust-encrusted lens to our eyes skimming the front page of The New York Times?

The photos above are from Canadian photographer Louie Palu who spent five years documenting the War in Afghanistan. In this interview, Palu speaks about his experience and his belief in the ability of photographs to reach the soul.

Stay curious, my friends.